alpha test

Battlefield 3 Alpha Test

So the closed alpha testing for Battlefield 3 went live yesterday and I got a chance to play some. Its only testing for PC so all the console guys out there will have to wait till beta testing. The alpha consists of one multiplayer rush map called Opertation Metro. As usual rush mode, you take turns attacking or defending two points. As you capture points your team moves forward or you must fall back if your defending. To those familiar with the series the gameplay feels very much the same. You unlock weapons, attachments, and other bonuses as you level each class. The classes are Recon, Assualt, Engineer, and Support. You don’t get access to all the class goodies but there are plenty to choose from for an alpha. All that is typical Battlefield. The alpha plays in a sort of web brower, so you actually don’t have all the software for the game. You also don’t control any options on video or anything. They have added prone to your movement which came in handy many times. Also as you move you can hurdle over objects (short walls, benches , etc.). While you hurdle over objects you can still fire your weapon. However since you’re firing and hurdling your accuracy does take a dive. You can also jump into prone on the run. The look of the game in fantastic graphically. I did play it on a made-for-gaming PC, but I don’t expect the console versions to be much different. It will easily be the best looking Battlefield to date. While buildings will be fully destructable in the final version, there are no collapsible buildings in the alpha. What they do have are plenty of walls to blow up. Anything you shoot takes some kind of damage. From tiles falling off to glass shattering, they have it. When I took out part of a wall on a two story building it caught fire and burned which was pretty cool looking. There is one tank in the map, but thats all vehicle wise. The map itself is a good combination of close quarters and open field battle. Depending which way the attacking team goes, you start in a Paris park then move to downtown streets or the underground subway station. The map has many paths to take to get to different areas, so there isn’t really any one choke point. Overall I was really impressed considering it’s only the alpha phase. If Battlefield 3 is continuing in this direction we should be in store for possibly the best FPS ever. If you have any questions about anything I didn’t mention or would like me to elaborate on something further, ask away down below and I will answer as best as I can.